We are saturated these days on social media and in the news about political and other events going on in our world. I’m not going to wade into the politics of what’s happening at the moment, however, I believe it’s important to acknowledge the new level of fear, uncertainty and anxiety that has surfaced in the world over these past several weeks if not months.

At times like these it’s very easy to get drawn into all the fear and negativity, and feel overwhelmed. I have certainly had my own moments of feeling anxious and I know I’m not alone in that regard.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what we can do to navigate through these uncertain times. It’s a basic human desire to feel seen, heard, and understood, whether that’s in a public forum, or within our own circle of family and friends. During times of change and transition I find it’s equally important to know what’s not changing. One of the things that helps ground me is to focus on my core values…these are things that don’t generally change and this reminds me about what’s truly important. I also reflect on what I have control over versus what I don’t have control over (easier said than done at times).

In our ‘always connected’ world there is so much information and commentary, it gets to be too much at times, and at the same time it can be hard to turn it off. Learning to disconnect and take time for self-care works for some people, while for others that may mean getting more involved in community.

Here are some questions to reflect on during these uncertain times:

1. What is really happening and how does it impact my family, my community, and me?

2. What can I actually control?

3. What am I feeling right now? And why?

4. What can I do to take care of others and myself when things get overwhelming?

5. How do I want to show up in the world?

6. What might be something good that can come out of this situation?

I’d love to hear what strategies you use during uncertain times. Leave a comment below.

I’ll leave you with another quote that seems especially fitting at the moment.

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen” – Winston Churchill

Are you interested in learning more about coaching? Find out how I can support you by connecting with me at the links below.

It’s the second week of January of a bright and shiny new year. Some people make new year’s resolutions or set new goals on January 1st and some wait a bit to let the dust settle from the holiday season, adjust to being back at the work or school routine, and in some cases people are recovering from colds and flu around this time.

Everyone’s different in how they approach the new year, some feel pressure to have everything defined on January 1st, while others, myself included, don’t. I personally don’t set new year’s resolutions per se, but rather I like to reflect on the year that has been (2016 was a roller coaster), and think about where I want to focus this year, and what I want to create. I do this through a variety of methods including journaling, mind-mapping, creating vision boards and identifying themes. I find that after the holiday season I like to take some time to reflect before I get really clear on my focus for the year. When I was younger I used to list off a bunch of typical resolutions when asked – you know the ones – more time with family, go to the gym, get in shape, spend more time in nature, eat less etc. Like many other people, I felt the need to have an answer when asked what my resolutions were. The problem is, they weren’t really based on what was really important at the moment, they were pat answers and didn’t include much thought as to ‘how’ I would accomplish those things.

Whether you set new goals, resolutions, themes, or some other variation of these, you have to find a method that works for you and do it in your own time and at your own pace. Some people really like completing detailed goal setting exercises, others prefer developing higher level themes, while others like to express things creatively. There’s no right or wrong way, it’s whatever works for you. Here are some resources I’ve come across that you may find useful (whatever your style is).

I like variety and I’m not a one size fits all kind of person so that’s why I like to use a variety of methods. I would love to hear how you approach this and what tools work for you – please leave a comment below.

Regardless of your method, the substance and meaning needs to reflect what’s really important to YOU, not what you think you ‘should’ have as your goals, or to impress others. If it’s not really important to you, you can have the most impressive sounding list of goals, but you are not likely to put your heart and soul into achieving them.

So what’s really important to you this year? What do you want to create for yourself? And most importantly, ‘how’ are you going to achieve these things and what supports do you need?

If I can support you in identifying and reaching your goals, please connect with me at symmetrycoaching@shaw.ca.